Pouring spout for cartons



March 24, 1959 L. TARIN POURING SPOUT FOR CARTONS 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 Filed Feb. 14, 1957 INVENTOR. L/LL/AN TAP/IV WW March 24, 1959 TARIN POURING SPOUT FOR CARTONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 14, 1957 FIG. 7.

FIG.9.

FIG. 5."

INVENTOR. z/LLM/V TAM V United States Patent POURING SPOUT 'FOR CARTONS Lillian Tarin, New York, N.Y.

Application February 14, 1957,1Serial No.640,275

7 Claims. (Cl. 222-90 parts.

Another important object of this inventionis to provide a self-attaching pouring spout having no moving parts and having a stop to limit movement of the installed spout away from the carton wall.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the improved self-attaching pouring spout comprises .a rear wall and a pair of upwardly tapered side walls. The rear wall is provided with a flange extension which is bent forwardly between the side walls into proximity with the rear wall. The bottom portion of the rear wall is inclined rearwardly downwardly to provide the stop. The front edges of the side walls serve as cutting edges. An optional top wall is provided connecting be tween the top edges of .theside walls at the 'front thereof, this optional top wall being also provided with a front cutting edge.

In use, the spout may be inserted inwardly through the wall of :a carton in such a Way that the cutting edges cut out the top and side edges of a flap in said carton wall.

'The spout may then be withdrawn from the carton wall and the flap inserted frictionally between the rear wall and the associated flange of the spout. The side walls of the spout may then be inserted "through the carton opening formed by cutting out the flap.

In the fully assembled position, the stop is inclined away from the carton wall in the closed position of the spout, and lies substantially flush against the carton wall in the open position of the spout.

As an important feature of the invention, the stop also serves as a finger piece and is especially convenient for opening the spout. To open the spout, it is merely necessary to press the stop against the carton wall.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, "in conjunction with the annexed drawing, in which preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed.

In the drawings,

'Fig. 1 is a plan view of a blank used in fabricating a preferred embodimentof my improved'pouring spout.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the pouring spout.

- Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the pouring'spout, taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 3 shows the pouring spout placed against the wall of a carton or the'like, and with the cutting edge of the top wall of the spout extended through the carton wall, forming a 'slit therein.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the pouring spoutin its condition of Fig. 3. Fig.4 is partly'broken away.

2,878,966 Patented Mar. 24,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the pouring spout, taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 6. Fig. 5 shows the pouring spout against the wall of the carton and after the spout has been moved in a. further stroke from its position of Fig. 3, so that the side walls of the spout are extended through the carton wall. Fig. 5 shows the carton with the resulting flap severed therefrom along the top and side edges of the tab.

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the pouring spout in its condition of Fig. 5. Fig. 6 ispartly broken away.

vFig. 7 is a vertical section of the pouring spout, similar to Figs. 3 and 5, showing the flap partly inserted between the rear wall of the spout and a flange associated with said rear wall.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showing the pouring spout and the carton fully assembled and the spout closed.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing the spout open.

Fig. 2 of the drawings shows the completed pouring spout 10, and Fig. 1 shows the unitary blank 10a from which said pouring spout 10 is preferably formed.

As shown in Fig. 2 and in otherv views, said pouring spout 10 comprises a rear wall 11, side walls 12, a flange 13 connected with the top of rear wall 11 by means of bight 14, top Wall 15 and stop flange 16 connected with the lower edge of rear wall 11.

Said rear wall 11 is generally rectangular in shape. Each side wall 12 extends forwardly from rear wall 11, and extends below rear wall 11. Below the lower edge of rear wall 12, the rear edge 12a of wall 12 is located slightly forwardly of the plane of wall 11. The upper end of wall 11 extends somewhat above walls 11.

The upper edge 12b of side wall 12 is convex and is downwardly inclined. The lower end portion 26 of wall 12 is rectangular in shape. The front edge 12f of end portion 26 communicates at its upper end with forwardly extending shoulder edge 12a. The front end of edge12e communicates with the main front edge 12c of side wall 12. Said edge 12c is preferably concave, and is preferably sharpened so that it serves as a cutting edge. Said edge is upwardly inclined and edges 12b and 120 meet at the frontrnost point 12d of .said wall 12. Accordingly, side wall 12 is generally triangular in shape.

Flange 13 is generally rectangular in shape and connects by means of bight 14 with the upper edge of rear wall 11, above the side wall edges 12b. Said flange 13 is disposed in front of rear wall '11 and extends to a point below the upper points of said walls 12. The lower corners of flange 13 are optionally and preferably cut away at 13a.

Stop flange 16 is generally rectangular in shape and is laterally coextensive with the lower edge of rear wall 11. Said flange '16 is downwardly rearwardly inclined. The lower edge of flange 16 is preferably located slightly above-the extreme lower ends of said walls 12. The lower corners of flange 16 are optionally cut away at 16a.

The top wall 15 is optional, although the use of said wall 15 is preferred. Said wall 15 connects with top edge 12!; of one of the side walls 12 at the front end portion of said edge 1211. A tab 17 connects with the free side edge 15a of wall 15 and depends therefrom, inwardly of the other side wall 12. An off-shoot or tab 18 extends laterally outwardly from the lower end of flange 17 and extends frictionally through slot 19 in said other side wall 12. Said top-wall 15 has two front edge portions 15b which converge forwardly from theside edges of wall 15, meeting at point 150. Said edges 15b are preferably concave in shape and are preferably sharpened in any suitable manner to serve as cutting edges.

The structure of blank 10a will be apparent from the drawing and from the foregoing description. It will be apparent, without extended discussion, that blank '10 may be stamped or otherwise formed from a single sheet of relatively soft, bendable metal. The broken lines 9 in Fig. 1 indicate the lines along which the blank is folded to erect it into, its fully erected and assembled shape of Fig. 2.

Fig. 3 and succeeding views show a conventional can ton 20 having a top wall 21, rear wall 22 and a side wall 23. Said carton 20 may be of any appropriate rectangular shape and is made of paperboard or other sheet material of which household cartons are fabricated.

Figs. 3 and 4 show a first step in the assembly of pouring spout with carton 20. As shown in these views, the lower front corners of said wall 12 are placed against the outer or rear face or rear wall 22, and point 150 of top wall 15 is also placed against the outer face of said wall'22, and top wall 15 is pushed inwardly or forwardly. As a result, the top wall cutting edges 15b sever wall 22 and. form a slit 22a therein.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, upon further inward movement of pouring spout 10, the cutting edges 12c of the side walls 12 penetrate side wall 22 and form side slits 22b therein, said slits 22b extending at their upper ends to slit 22a. The result of this cutting movement of pouring spout 10 is to sever the flap or tab 24 from side wall 22, said flap 24 being connected at its lower edge to wall 22. It will be apparent that when flap 24 is swung away from wall 22, as shown in Fig. 5, there results an opening 25 in said wall 22. The side wall portions 26 extend below the lower edge of flap 24 and below the lower edge of opening 25. Edges 12f abut wall 22 and shoulder edges 12a rest upon the lower edge of opening 25. The upper portion of flange 13 abuts wall 22 above opening 25 at the conclusion of the 7 cutting movement of pouring spout 10.

After the conclusion of its cutting movement, pouring spout 10 is moved outwardly from wall 22. As shown in Fig. 7, flap 24 is placed against rear wall 11, with the upper end of flap 24 extending between flange 13 and rear wall 11. In this position, the lower edge of stop flange 16 abuts side wall 22, and tongues 26 protrude through slot 25.

As shown in Fig. 8, pouring spout 10 is then moved inwardly through slot 25 and flap 24 moved further upwardly between flange 13 and rear wall 11, until the upper edge of stop flange 16 abuts carton wall 22. Fig. 8 shows the closed position of pouring spout 10. In Fig. 8, flange 13 abuts the upper edge of opening 25, and the major portions of side walls 12 protrude through said opening 25 into the interior of carton 20. In this position, stop flange 16 is inclined downwardly outwardly from carton wall 22. In this position, wall 11 seals opening 25.

Fig. 9 shows the open position of pouring spout 10, wherein the pouring spout has been pivoted outwardly on the lower edge of flap 24. In this position, stop flange 16 rests substantially flush against carton wall 22, and rear wall 11 is inclined upwardly outwardly from said carton wall 22. This exposes the top opening defined by side walls 12, flange 13 and the rear edge of wall 15. Accordingly, in the position of Fig. 9, pouring spout 10 is in a position for outward flow of the contents of carton 20 via opening 25 and pouring spout 10. On the other hand, stop flange 16 serves as positive means for preventing outward movement of pouring spout 10 to an extent such as that of Fig. 7, wherein the cutting edges of pouring spout 10 would be exposed and wherein there would be gaps in the side wall of the spout outwardly of carton wall 22.

Flange 16, in addition to serving as a stop, also serves as a finger piece. In order to open the spout, it is mere- 1 necessary to press flange 16 against carton wall 22. This is considerably more convenient than having to pry the top of wall 10 away from the carton wall.

It will be apparent that while the spout is readily movable between. open and closed positions and cannot be either pushed entirely into the carton or removed from the carton during normal conditions of use, on the other hand, it is a simple matter to exert sufficient force on the pouring spout to separate it completely from the carton when the contents of the carton are exhausted. Hence, the pouring spout is reusable and may be attached to the next carton without the use of special tools.

It will be apparent, also, that my invention may be used with a carton having a liner such as a wax paper liner. For simplicity such conventional paper liner is omitted in the drawings.

It will be apparent that optionally, it is possible to eliminate the cutting edges 15b or even to eliminate top wall 15 altogether. In that case after forming the side slits 22, it is necessary to employ a separate knife or the like to form slit 22a and hence sever the top of flap 24 from wall 22. Otherwise, the construction and use of the pouring spout remains substantially the same.

While I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, and have indicated various changes, omissions and additions which may be made therein, it will be apparent that various other changes, omissions and additions may be made in the invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. In combination, a container and a pouring spout, one of the walls of said container having a rectangular opening, said pouring spout comprising a rear wall, planar side walls extending forwardly from the side edges of said rear wall, and a. stop flange connecting with the bottom edge of said rear wall and inclined generally rearwardly relative thereto, said side walls having coplanar extensions depending therefrom below the junction between said stop flanges and said rear wall, said side walls extending through said container wall opening and into the interior space of said container, said stop flange being located outside said container, said side wall extensions being located inside said container, the bottom edge of said opening abutting the junction between said stop flange and said side wall extension, said pouring spout being movable upon said bottom edge of said opening as a pivot between an open position in which said flange is substantially in flush abutment with said container wall and said rear wall of said pouring spout is inclined upwardly outwardly relative to said container wall, and a closed position in which said rear wall substantially seals said container wall opening and in which said stop flange is inclined downwardly outwardly relative to the container wall and in which the rear edges of said side wall extensions substantially abut the inner face of said container wall, said side walls being substantially fully extended into the interior space of said container in the closed position of the pouring spout and remaining partially extended into the interior space of the container in the open position of the pouring spout.

2. A combination opener and pouring spout for containers comprising a rear wall, side walls extending forwardly from the side edges of said rear wall and having front cutting edges, the upper end portion of said rear wall having means for holding a flap cut out from a container frictionally and releasably in flush abutment with the front face of said rear wall and with the lower edge of said rear wall parallel to and closely adjacent the bottom edge of said flap, said side walls having noncutting, coplanar, depending extensions below the front cutting edges thereof and below the lower edge of said rear wall, the front edge of each said side wall extension being located rearwardly of said cutting edge to define a shoulder at the bottom of the main portion of said side wall, and a stop flange connecting with the lower edge of said rear wall and inclined downwardly rearwardly relative to said rear wall.

3. A combination opener and pouring spout for containers comprising a rear wall, side walls extending forwardly from the side edges of said rear wall and having front cutting edges, said side walls having non-cutting, co-planar, depending extensions below the front cutting edges thereof and below the lower edge of the rear wall, the front edge of each said side wall extension being located rearwardly of said cutting edge to define a shoulder at the bottom of the main portion of said side wall, and a stop flange connecting with the lower edge of said rear wall and inclined downwardly rearwardly relative to said rear wall.

4. A combination opener and pouring spout for containers comprising a rear wall, substantially planar side walls extending forwardly from the side edges of said rear wall and having front cutting edges, and a stop flange connecting with the lower edge of said rear wall and inclined downwardly rearwardly relative to said rear wall, said side wall and the front cutting edge thereof extending below said lower edge of said rear wall, each said side wall having a co-planar extension extending below said cutting edge and with the front edge of said extension located rearwardly of said cutting edge to define a shoulder at the bottom of the main portion of said side wall.

5. In combination, a container and a pouring spout, one of the walls of said container having a rectangular flap cut out from said wall along the top and sides of said flap, said container wall having a resulting opening, said flap being hingedly connected to said container wall along the bottom edge of said flap, said pouring spout comprising a rear wall, side walls extending forwardly from the side edges of said rear wall, and a stop flange connecting with the bottom edge of said rear wall and inclined generally rearwardly relative thereto, said flap being disposed in flush abutment with the front face of said rear wall, said rear wall having means for holding said flap frictionally and releasably in said flush abutment with said front face of said rear wall, the lower edge of said rear wall being parallel to and closely adjacent the bottom edge of said flap, said side walls extending through the opening in the container wall and into the interior space of the container, said pouring spout and said flap being movable upon the hinge line of said flap between an open position in which said flange is substantially in flush abutment with said container wall and said rear wall of the pouring spout is inclined upwardly outwardly relative to the container wall, and a closed position in which said rear wall substantially seals the container wall opening and in which said stop flange is inclined downwardly outwardly relative to the container wall, said side walls being substantially fully extended into the interior space of the container in the closed position of the pouring spout and remaining partially extended into the interior space of the container in the open position of the pouring spout.

6. A combination according to claim 5, said side walls of said pouring spout having flap-cutting front edges, said cutting edges being positioned wholly within said container in both positions of the pouring spout.

7. A combination according to claim 6, said pouring spout also having a top wall connecting the upper edges of said side walls adjacent the front thereof and spaced from said rear wall, said top wall having a further front flap-cutting edge, said top wall being substantially wholly located within the interior space of said container in both positions of the pouring spout.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,327,420 Grosse Aug. 24, 1943 2,333,781 Halstead Nov. 9, 1943 2,442,126 Halstead May 25, 1948 

